title: [Surveillance of nosocomial infections among very low birth weight infants in NEO-KISS: from a voluntary system to a mandatory regulation].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  NEO-KISS is a national surveillance system generating reference data for nosocomial infections among very low birth weight infants (VLBW) and was established 2000 as a voluntary based system. Since 2006 exist an official decision that participation in NEO-KISS is a prerequisite for the care of VLBW at level III NICUs in Germany.
  
  
  METHODS
  Comparing the reference data before and after the resolution and analysing the structure and the infection rates between the departments participating since 2006 (new-departments) and the neonatology departments participating voluntary before 2006 (old-departments).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Since 2006 the number of participating departments increased clarion. The characteristic of the 110 new-departments differs from the 46 old-departments in many ways. The old-departments treated more VLBW per month, have more beds and are located at larger hospitals. The distribution of the treated VLBW shows a trend to lower birth-weights in the old-departments. However, the comparison of the reference data 2005, generated only from data from old-departments, shows no systematic changes to the reference data 2006 (including data from numerous new-departments). Also the comparison of the infection rates from for an identical time period separated for new and old-departments shows only minor differences.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The inclusion of many new departments in NEO-KISS shows no influence to the reference data. And also the comparison of infection rates between new and old-departments shows no systematic discrepancy. It follows the unnecessary of separating the data from old-departments and new-departments and the appropriateness of the entire databank to generate the national reference data.
authors.affiliation: Nationales Referenzzentrum für Surveillance nosokomialer Infektionen, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Deutschland. christine.geffers@charite.de
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Geffers
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Piening
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schwab
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gastmeier
mesh_terms: D002408:Catheters, Indwelling; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D020345:Enterocolitis, Necrotizing / Q000453:epidemiology; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D053717:Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012016:Reference Values; D018805:Sepsis / Q000453:epidemiology